


I Heard Someone Crying

by punkyjo



Series: Ace Mansion November [4]
Category: Ace Mansion, The Ace Mansion
Genre: Angst, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 05:24:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21314887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkyjo/pseuds/punkyjo
Summary: Carys hears someone crying as she explores the mansion late one night.
Relationships: Iris/Lonny, Ironny
Series: Ace Mansion November [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1534484
Kudos: 1





	I Heard Someone Crying

Carys held her phone light aloft as she wandered the dark hallways of the mansion. There was almost always _someone_ awake, but tonight, the place was eerily still, quiet enough to shame a church. She hadn’t intended to explore for long, but she needed to get out of her room. Staying so long in the same place at ESO had nearly driven her to distraction, and she hated the feeling of being cooped up. Now that they were all free, she took every opportunity to keep moving.

At first, Carys thought someone had left the television on. The sound was small, muffled, almost indiscernible through the door to the living room. She only meant to go in and shut it off. She hadn’t expected to find Ivy, curled up on the couch, crying quietly onto a pillow.

“Ivy?” Carys rushed forward. “Ivy, what’s wrong?”

Ivy quickly wiped her sleeve across her nose, as if she was ashamed. “Nothing.”

Carys frowned. “Come on, you can talk to me. Best friends, remember?” Carys held up her wrist to show Ivy that she still wore the bracelet Ivy had made. Ivy nodded, but still said nothing. Her golden curls were a tangled mess, some of them sticking to her face where they caught in her tears.

Carys pulled off her zippered hoodie and wrapped it around Ivy’s shoulders. “Come on,” she whispered. Ivy climbed into Carys’s arms, and Carys carried her down the hallway to the kitchen. She set her down on the counter, and handed Ivy a napkin to wipe her face. “Have you tried hot chocolate yet?” Carys asked as she pulled down a couple of mugs from the cupboard. Ivy shook her head. “Well, we shall have to fix that.”

Carys busied herself warming the milk and filling the mugs while Ivy looked on with her usual curiosity. When it was finished, Carys handed a mug to Ivy, and took a sip of her own. “It’s absolutely perfect, if I do say so myself,” Carys smiled. Ivy took a small sip of hers, and nodded her agreement. “Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you?”

Ivy looked so small, wearing the too big hoodie, sitting with her legs curled up on the counter, the mug of cocoa giant in her tiny hands. “I didn’t really think they’d go,” she whispered.

It took Carys a moment to realize what Ivy was talking about. Iris and Lonny had waited around for a little bit, making sure everyone was settled back in after the ordeal at ESO before heading out on their universe trotting adventure. They’d even asked Ivy’s permission before leaving, which was more than Carys had expected of them. But once Ivy had given it, it was as if a weight had been lifted off of them. The pair couldn’t hide their excitement, and left without much ceremony - just a quick goodbye to Ivy and whoever else happened to be around, and then they were off.

“Then why did you tell them they could?”

“That’s what they taught me,” Ivy said, “before, when I was the mansion. They said it was wrong to keep people here if they didn’t want to be.”

Carys nodded, and hopped up to sit next to Ivy on the counter. “You did right by them, Ivy. And they have no idea how much they’re missing out on by missing time with you. I’m sorry.”

Ivy sniffed, and took another sip of her chocolate. “They don’t want me.”

“No,” Carys said firmly. “I won’t let you think that. You’re miraculous. Everything about you. And one day they’ll see that, and they’ll regret the time they lost.” She put her arm around Ivy. “And if you want to cry, you go ahead and cry. You’re allowed to be sad about the lost time, too.”

Ivy took one last sip of her hot chocolate, slipped her hands inside the sleeves of the hoodie, curled up against Carys, and cried.


End file.
